Service technicians play an important role in Element Logic and are one of the guarantors that the AutoStore system delivers properly. We had a chat with two of our service technicians to hear about how they help customers with their warehouse automation daily.

Sebastian Sandberg and Mattias Nordengren are both service technicians at Element Logic Sweden, but with a slightly different approach to their work. Sebastian, who has been with the company for two years, is a traveling technician and serves the whole of Sweden, but also other countries such as Finland. In addition, he is involved in supporting the German department, and Element Logic’s customers in Lithuania and France. He has also supported the UK department remotely with commissioning before they hired their own technician who received basic system training from Sebastian.Today the UK department have their own group of local service technicians.

I came to Element Logic from the construction industry and was trained in AutoStore internally. In Element Logic you have full control and responsibility in the daily work life and can set up the work as you wish

Sebastian Sandberg
Service technician, Element Logic Sweden

– I came to Element Logic from the construction industry and was trained in AutoStore internally. In Element Logic you have full control and responsibility in the daily work life and can set up the work as you wish, says Sebastian.

– All our service technicians have been employed based on personality and technical interest. We have a great variety of backgrounds with technical focus, says Mattias who for three years also was a traveling service technician but today is a customer-based technician at Boozt, Element Logic’s largest customer and the world’s largest AutoStore system.

He thinks that both ways of working have their advantages, but that you of course become more involved and get a better idea of ​the customer needs when you are a customer-based service technician.

The customer’s uptime is everything

Mattias, who previously worked as a landscape construction worker, is also thoroughly trained in AutoStore. At Boozt, he is Team Leader and Resident Engineering Manager. This means that he is responsible for the development of service, customer contact, and contact with the supplier.

– I check the current support issues and what to be prioritized first. This can involve both emergency repairs and preventive service that takes place from a mezzanine area next to the system where the robots run on the grid. We also have remote connection so we can solve issues remotely; if there is something wrong with one of the robots, we can guide it by phone and book a technician. AutoStore is a nested solution, which simplifies both service and support and minimizes the financial risk and the risk of people being injured. It also means that we reduce the need to reach out to the customers physically in comparison with regular manual warehouses. The entire work aims to maintain a good flow for the customer’s uptime, where the system should always be in motion, Sebastian says.

How can you influence the uptime?

– We make sure that the modules always receive preventive service and that they are repaired as soon as possible if something breaks down. In the preventive service, several components are reviewed, for example cleaning piston brushes, replacing drive belts and since the system is extremely spot-on, the sensors and the bins must always be kept clean of dirt and dust. The robots need to be kept up to date to always be at the forefront and deliver the promised uptime. We also analyse what went wrong and what proved to work well. The analysis can also aim to determine future opportunities for expansion. And it is common for customers to notice relatively quickly that they need to bridge their automation, says Mattias.

An increasingly extensive role – which receives much praise

Element Logic’s technicians are increasingly working with customers’ technology as well. Earlier, third-party solutions were most often used, but as the offer moves more towards a complete solution, the service technicians must also know the technology in conveyors, packaging technology and other material flow handling solutions. The technicians are popular amongst Element Logic’s customers, which was clearly seen in the annual customer survey – where the service technicians received high scores.

– I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we have very good routines, and that Element Logic has succeeded well in its recruitment of competent people. As a service technician you really feel like part of the company with a great management who sees us and makes us go the extra mile for our customers. For many, this is more than a job and I think it shows in the meeting with the customer, Sebastian concludes.